Keep on Fighting
by apheria13
Summary: The Novaks were born to hunting. It's all they know. So when the family falls apart at the death of their dad, they keep on going. But forces are circling them, drawing them into a fate that could end the world. The only thing they have is each other, and two wayward angels who want to help. But can they stand up against all the forces and make it through alive? more inside
1. Prolouge

**As far as hunters go, the Novak family are best and brightest. In fact, they're the oldest of all the ancient hunting families. For longer than some of the things they hunt, their family has been protecting the world from all that goes bump in the night. Now it's Gabriel, Castiel, and Hazel's (OC) turn. With their father gone and siblings fighting they're forced to take up the mantel themselves to the best of their abilities. Of course, that's easier said than done. Ill forces are circling them, drawing them into something they don't understand. Something that could end the world and everything good. With this huge risk on their shoulders all they can turn to is two angels hell bent on helping them stop it, and hope they can manage.**

 ** _Reverse! Verse. Angel Dean, Angel Sam. Human Gabriel, Castiel, Lucifer, Michael. And some others._**

* * *

 _Always and forever._

Whispers flitted across the consciousness like a soft breeze as the babe cried.

 _Always and forever._

A mantra filling the air with a chilly finality even as his family celebrated.

 _Always and forever._

A promise. A curse. One that should never have been thrust upon so one so innocent. So young.

"Destiny cannot be changed." A voice echoed his thoughts, dark wings flashing in the starlight. "But it doesn't always end as bad as we think."

"You may be right sister, but it would take a miracle to fix this. Too many forces work againt him." White wings ruffled in agitation. "How can we save him…..any of them from this?"

"We stop them then." Her voice whispered, "We work against those that who work against them."

"They're know if we do. They'll stop us."

"Then we stay hidden. Working from the shadows just like they are. But deeper. Deep enough that we become nothing more than a memory."

He nodded, white wings taking him closer to peer into the little house before them. Piercing blue eyes met his own, cooing softly. This was their hope. Or ruin. Wrapped amongst blankets, nestled in his mother's arms. Obvlious to the trials that would one day be on his shoulders.

"He's so little." Hazel softly said as she looked down at her new little brother in thier mother's arms. Hesitantly she reached out, letting him grab her finder. "Hi Castiel."

"No fair," Luke's voice whined from the doorway, "why does she get to go first?"

"Gabe and Hazel first." Their father called from the hall as he moved to join them, setting down down Gabriel so he could run to his twin's side. "Both you and Michael have had a chance to meet a new sibbling before."

"Of course father." Michael said, smirking at Luke.

"You wanted in first too." Luke snapped back, "You're the one who pushed Gabriel down."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Enough." Their father didn't raise his voice, but it filled the room and made them bother freeze. He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and squeezed slightly in warning. "Stop fighting or you won't be allowed in at all."

"Yes sir." They both chimed, throwing each other dirty looks, but neither said another word.

"Hiya Cassie." Gabriel said with a smile as he moved next to his twin, "I'm Gabriel. THe best of all your brothers. When you grow up we'll have a lot of fun eating candy and pranking everyone."

"Gabriel." Their mother warned, but he just gave her and innocent smile and reached out to let Catiel take his finger as well.

Smiling at the image of the twins on either side of her little boy, their mother leaned forward and whispered to them. "You'll always protect him won't you two? That's what big siblings do. Right?"  
Hazel nodded solemnly, her eyes never leaving Castiel's. Gabriel nodded, beaming proudly and puffing out his chest like only a three year-old could. "Of course. We'll be the be the best big siblings ever!"


	2. Chapter1

"I'd say that we're the worst big siblings ever, but you're the one who managed to loose him!" Gabriel shouted, glaring at Michael across the room. His grip tightened on the gun in his hand and they both tensed. "What in the hell made you think that sending him out on his own was a good idea?"

"There's no need to take that tone with me." Michael's voice was infuriatingly calm as he flipped through their Dad's journal. Looking for information on what they could be up against. "He's a hunter. It's what we were raised to be. With all the training he's gotten he can handle anything."

"A hunter? He's barely old enough to buy booze! There is no way you should have let him go off to check things out without backup. Especially on a hunt you know barely anything about." Gabriel started pacing now, through all sorts of nasty looks at their elder brother as Hazel stood behind him. "We would have never let this happen."

"Says the ones who walked out 4 years ago and haven't come back." Michael shot back with a glare, "Maybe if you had been here this wouldn't have happened."

"Us? You're putting the blame on us?" Gabriel snarled the words, actively raising his gun only to be stopped by his twin's gentle grip on his wrist. "Maybe if you and Luke hadn't become the biggest bag of dicks ever we would've stuck around."

"Enough." Hazel spoke up finally, voice like ice as she glared between them. "Fighting is not going to solve this. Castiel is more important than digging up old dirt. Right now, we should be focusing on finding him. Family over pride."

"Of course." Michael said, a bitter look on his face that Gabriel assumed was from being reminded of his duty by his younger sibling. Gabriel nodded as well, letting her continue and focusing on calming himself down.

"Now, Michael. What was the info you got that made you think this was our kinda thing? Beside the idea of 'disappearances' from within a locked house? And what exactly happened before you called us."

"There was reports of lighting troubles. Contractors have been out to the house 6 times in the last 3 months. All for flickering lights." Michael explained. "Assuming it was some sort of ghost, I came out with Castiel to take care of it. I stayed back for research and he went to check out the house. He never came back."

"Which is when you called us." Hazel filled in. "So he's been missing for a day and a half." Michael nodded, "And the bodies of the victims appear after a week of being missing, correct?"

Michael nodded again, "There's no wounds on the bodies, no discernible cause of death."

"Other than the supernatural?" Gabriel said, taking the cheap shot and ignoring the glare Hazel sent his way. She disapproved. She always disapproved when he snuck in jabs during work. _Spoilsport._

 _Immature._ She snapped back over their bond even as she continued to listen to Michael drone on about details they had already heard on the drive over. _Focus. Finding Cass is more important that putting Mike in his place. Whether he deserves it or not._

 _I know that. But talking this over again isn't helping. He's going into lecture mode and we'll be here for the next two weeks. That'll wreck any chance Cass has._ Gabriel returned, _Let's just ditch him and get this done on our own._

 _No._ _He's already done most of the research. Why start from scratch and waste more time when we can get good intel from him?_

 _Because he's a pratt._

 _Pratt? You've been hanging around Balthazar too much again._

 _Haven't seen him since that ghoul case in New Orleans…during Mardi Gras. Still not sure how we managed to find and kill the thing._

 _That's because you and Balt were drunk off your asses._ Hazel responded, tone disapproving but a smile on her face. Gabriel could feel the fondness at the good memory and knew she'd enjoyed their time there.

 _Of course I enjoyed it. It was Mardi Gras. In. New Orleans._

"Can you two stop!" Michael cried out, drawing their attention back to him. "You're the ones who were all upset with me for not focusing. And now you're off in twin-verse, having your own secret conversations." He scowled at them. "It's so unnatural how in tune you two are sometimes."

"Sorry Mike." Hazel responded, her tone a little darker than it had been before. Gabriel could tell she didn't appreciate his last comment and was trying to keep her own temper in check. "So you've found no recorded deaths in the house or on the land…..anything; no speculations or myths?"

"No. The only bit of any 'dark' history I can find is that this house used to be part of the underground railroad, but that wasn't found out until a couple of years ago." Michael explained with a shrug, "They were doing ground radar stuff for something and found tunnels that went pretty much across the property. They haven't found an entrance yet however, and they don't want to dig them out in case they'd collapse."

Hazel looked thoughtful as Gabriel watched Mike continue to ramble on, and he tentatively reached out through there bond questioningly.

 _Tunnels. Adrenaline rushing. They need to hide. Can't be spotted. Mustn't be found._ He let the trains of thought rush by him, not wanting to distract her. Instead he focused on her intent and found that something Mike had said had struck a chord with her. Something that could lead them to Cass.

"Michael, let me see dad's journal." Gabriel told him, cutting off the rambling of facts. "Hazel's on something."

Michael frowned suspiciously and hesitantly passed over the book. "I want it back."

"Of course." Gabriel rolled his eyes as he opened the book. Flipping through the pages he found the spot on spirits and turned to hand the book to Hazel as her stream of thoughts slowed.  
"It's hiding." She said absentmindedly as she looked through the spirit pages slowly. "Cass must've figured it out. Which made it angry. It couldn't have anyone finding anything. So it removed him." She stopped on a page and tapped her finger against it and showed the others.

"A death echo?" Michael frowned, "It can't be. Those don't have enough juice to do this. And there have been no deaths that could create an echo anywhere around here."

"Residual hauntings: Death Echos are formed from emotions, usually a passed spirit with regrets. They tend to take their dying form and act out the method of their death. The best method to deal with them is to burn the bodies. If that's not possible, one can try and snap them out of it. To do this one usually needs to have a connection to the Echo, or a strong spiritual ability to communicate with the other side." Gabriel read their father's words, trusting that Hazel wouldn't lead them astray. "However, I have recently found that they can also before formed from pure emotions. Enough of one, all focused on the same though reacts much like a tulpa, pulling into being a sentient form of emotions.

"So, emotions took Cass? How is that even possible?"

"Gabe, it's the emotions of the railroad. All those people. They had to hide. Keep out of sight." Hazel explained, nodding to Michael as understanding colored his features. "All of those who traveled through her had the exact same emotions. Connected to that single concept. Stay hidden. Mustn't be seen.

"All of this created this….emotional being. It's been here since it was formed. The same thoughts going through it. Then, suddenly, the thing that was supposed to be kept secret has been discovered. The tunnels were found and then people began to look for the entrances. Which it couldn't have. After all. They're supposed to stay hidden."

"So it's taking whoever finds them. Hiding them away until they die." Michael added, "So that they can't share what they've found."

"Which means the cause of death was partially supernatural and partially exposure." Hazel explained, "Which means if we can find the entrance…."

"We find Cassie." Gabriel finished and smiled, "And according to Dad's book. It'll have to take a form which is immune to salt." He glanced down. "And to kill it we just need to make it fail in it's duty? So what? Break or burn down door to the tunnels"

Hazel noded and Gabriel returned the book to Michael. "So to end this mission all we need to is find Cass." He grabbed his duffle and gave his signature trickster smile. "Let's get going then. Lady Cassandra needs her knights."

Darkness. Endless darkness. It dominated his senses until it was all he knew. Gone was his name. His past. All there was, was darkness. Complete and utter darkness.

And himself. Suspended in this space. Not knowing anything. Encompassed completely.

It was peaceful. The darkness sheltering him from everything that could hurt him...although, he wasn't sure what could hurt him. He couldn't remember the...other. Whatever was...had been beyond this darkness.

There had been something before the darkness. He knew that. Knew it like he knew that there was nothing but darkness. That he as part of it, but not. That he had once existed outside of it, but no idea as to who he was.

Now it was just him. And the darkness. Forever.

.

.

.

.

Until it wasn't. One moment (or maybe it was 100 moments. There was no time in the darkness) there was just him and the darkness, then there was….something else. A single word. Called over and over again.

 _Castiel._

 _Castiel._

 _Castiel._

 _Castiel._

 _Castiel._

Not a word, something else.

 _Castiel._

 _Castiel.  
Castiel._

A name. A word for which something is known by.

 _Castiel._

 _Castiel._

A proper noun for an object, animal, person. Special to them. Who they were.

 _Castiel._

 _HIS name._

Castiel focused on the voice, pulling himself from the darkness' embrace. There was something familiar about the voice. An echo from some long forgotten dream. A dream he needed to remember.

 _Castiel._

The voice said his name again, a sort whispered that caressed his ears. Calm despite it's persistent calling.

 _Castiel. Come back. Awaken._

At the last word, there was a sharp ringing that began and grew until it overwhelmed his unused senses. It broke through the darkness, tearing it apart with a light so bright it pushed past his awareness and he began to fall unconscious. A flash of green so pure it didn't seem real the last thing he saw.

"Cass….Castiel?" A girls voice, full of a motherly concern and sorrow. A familiar voice he hadn't expected to hear.

"Wake up moron." A male's voice this time. Accompanied by a rough shaking sensation. "Wake up dammit or I'm giving you a wet willy."

"Gabriel." The girls voice again, echoed by another male's as well. It was a warning, telling Gabriel to stop. A warning that could only be delivered by one person without his brother snapping back. Hazel. Gabriel rarely snapped at his twin when she sounded this serious.

Slowly Castiel struggled to open his eyes, choking out their names with some effort. "Hazel? Gaberiel?"

"Yah, its' us Cass." Hazel answered, relief coloring her tone. Castiel could tell she was smiling despite not quiet being able to see her face as his eyes struggled to adjust.

"Mikey's here too." Gabriel chimed in, "Sadly."

Michael made an annoyed sound in protest to the comment and Hazel hushed them both. "No fighting." She said, the harshing leaving her voice as she spoke to him again, "You alright Cass?"

"I….I do not know." He answered honestly, blinking rapidly as the world came into focus. He was laying on the ground in what appeared to be in a tunnel like structure. Dirt ceiling and walls surrounding them. To his left was an opening that was letting in a healthy stream of daylight. Enough to light up the room, but not enough to blind him. A blessing in disguise since he knew how painful waking up as he had would have been with more light. "I do not feel any pain, but I am very tired. And am confused as to what happened." He focused on her, meeting a pair of eyes that matched her name. They were filled with a warm concern that put what discomfort and panic he was feeling at rest.

"Long story." Gabriel explained, drawing his attention. Gabriel was smiling that same trickster smile he always had on, eyes crinkling with relief and mischief. "Mikey here managed to lose you and called us in for support 'cause he knows just how much he sucks." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing out of the door into the light that Castiel's eyes refused to focus on. "And now he's waiting out there so his perfect highness doesn't get dirty."

"I am not!" Michael snapped out, not amused with their brother's antics.

"Guys, stop it or I'm going to cast a conjoining spell on you two." Hazel threatened, "You'll be conjoined at the hand until you can get along, or I decide it no longer amuses me."

"Yes _mom_."" Gabriel shot back, no heat in the snarky comeback. He shared a look with her that made Castiel smile.

"You two have not changed." He choked out the words past dry lips and he slowly strugled to sit up. "It's good to see you again."

"You too Cass." Hazel helped him up and reached behind her for a water bottle that Gabriel handed her without needing to be prompted. "Try to drink a little of this. Slowly ok?"

Castiel nodded, taking the bottle in a shaking hand and sipping at the cool water. It soothed his aching throat and he had to force himself to stop before drinking too much. "Thank you."

"Of course. Once you feel up to it, we'll move you out of here. Alright?"

Castiel nodded in answer to her question, then followed up with one of his own. "Where is this exactly? I am unable to recall exactly what happened before you woke me up here."

"You were on a hunt. Trying to figure out what happened to a bunch of people who disappeared for a week and then were found dead on this old farmstead." Gabriel explained with a flare that only belonged to him. One that Castiel had truely missed despite how much it would perplex him at times. "You must've been searching around when the big baddie decided to help you pull a houdini."

"Pull a houdini?" Castiel asked, confused for a moment before it made sense. "Do you mean disappear?"

"Exactamundo." Gabriel clapped as if congratulating him, "Turns out the big bad didn't like you, or anyone else for that matter, snooping around and finding these secret tunnels. So it locked you in here to die of exposure….the exposed to the elements version, not the flashing your private bits around kind. Though, that'd be a lot more interesting. An ghost that could rip off or vanish your clothes with a snap." He snapped for emphasis and grinned. "That'd be an awesome super power."  
"Thank goodness it's not real." Hazel chuckled and pushed Gabriel playfully, "We'd have to keep you locked up or there'd be no one with clothes on at all."

"Except for Mikey." Gabriel replied, smirked over his shoulder towards the door where Castiel assume Michael must be waiting. "Who'd ever want to see that?"

"I assure you Gabriel, there are many who would." Michael said with a sigh, "Though I'm not sure why we're having this discussion now. We should focus on getting Castiel out of there to a place where he can recover more comfortably."

"Right Mike. We know." Hazel called back, frowning, "Just giving him a chance to collect himself. He's been out for three days. It takes time to snap back from that."

"Three days? I was out for three days?" Castiel asked, frowning. Something about that didn't feel right. Faintly a flash of green light flashed across his mind as he searched through what broken memories he could recall. "I do not feel like I have been unconscious for three days."

"You don't look it either." Gabriel told him, peering closer at Castiel curiously. "You're bounding back rather quick too….but maybe the big bad took pity on it's victims and stayed off some of the effects of exposure."

Hazel shrugged, "Not sure. Doesn't matter now. It's gone and we have Cass back in one piece."


	3. Chapter2

**Hi Everybody. Just wanted to check in. I am planning to update more frequently in the future, but I had to rewrite the beginning chapters i had prepared of this. Didn't like them as much as I though I did.**

 **Let me know if there are any major spelling or grammar mistakes you notices. I edit my own stuff and sometimes miss things.**

 **Sam and Dean will show up soon. :) Enjoy.**

* * *

Castiel let Gabriel and Michael help him into the motel room and over to the bed, ignoring the arguing going on between them. It was a soothing sound in the basic familiarity it provided. It was grounding, keeping him from falling back into that world of darkness. It reminded in the corners of his mind, pulling at him. Trying to draw him back. Back to that place where there was nothing. He was nothing. Nothing except alone.

The complete opposite of what he had now. Now he had three of his siblings with him. And despite the inevitable arguing that was bound to occur, he was thankful. It was better than the dark world. Better than the past couple of years where he had been hunting on his own. He did not mind being alone, but being with family was better.

"Here you are Cassie." Gabriel said, as he and Michael helped him to sit on the bed. "Now we'll just get you a hot nurse and everything will be all better."

"I do not believe the temperature of the nurse matters in the ability to confirm my health." Castiel replied, watching as Gabriel backed away with a grimace.

"You're starting to sound like a stick in the mud. Like Mike here." Gabriel said, looking over at Hazel, "I think we failed him."

"Castiel is respectful, unlike you." Michael said, tone unamused. He glared at Gabriel and Castiel glanced at Hazel for help, feeling an argument brewing.

"Ok, back off and go fight over there." Hazel pushed between the two, moving to Castiel's side. "I'll check him over and make sure he's fine." She smiled at Castiel as the other two moved away. "Now, let's make sure you're not hurt."

Castiel sat quietly as she went through the basic medical checks their dad had taught them. First for a concussion, shining a light in his eyes and making him follow her finder with his eyes. Then checking for bruises or bumps on his head. After that she checked for any wounds, and would have checked for infection if there had been any. The final check was for broken bones or sprains. She had him move his arms and legs every which way before nodding.

"Nothing wrong." She smiled, giving him a hug. It was a tight hug, one Castiel knew came from relief and the joy of seeing a loved one after a while. "Glad you're alright Cass."

"I am glad as well. Thank you for checking." Castiel said, meaning every word. He knew he had no injuries, after all they had done a check in the tunnels before even moving him. "Are you doing alright as well?"

"Good as can be." Hazel answered, "A little bruised from a particularly rough ghoul the other week. But it's healing."

"That is good to hear."

"Good except she would have never been injured if she hadn't insisted on racing to see who could complete the hunt first." Gabriel added, joining them by jumping up on the bed before falling to sit next to him. "Which was foolish since we all know I'm the better hunter."

"Are not." Hazel shot back, smiling. Her eyes held Gabriel's for a long moment and Castiel could tell something had passed between their bond. Something that neither he nor Michael would be privy to unless they chose to share. Which he didn't mind, but he knew Michael would if he had seen it. He always cared.

"I wish you two would take hunting more serious. It's not a game. It's life and death out there." Michael joined them, starting to lecture until Hazel poked his arm. A subtle friendly threat telling him to stop.

"The most important thing is that we're alright. Right?" Hazel insisted, wrapping an arm around Michael's shoulders, forcing him to duck down to her level. Being no taller than her twin, made them the shortest members of their family. Even their half brother Samandriel had surpassed them by an inch or two. It was a sore point for Gabriel, but Hazel wielded it like a weapon. Showing just how different the two could be.

Normally they were as similar as can be. Both had a love of trouble. In fact, there father had always referred to them as his "little terrors"; since they were constantly causing mayhem wherever they went. They had a love mischief that knew no bounds. There was never a day where someone wasn't the victim of their pranks as they grew up. If it wasn't dumping some unknown things on one of their siblings or messing with their stuff; it was causing fights.

Many of the fights between Michael and Luke had escalated or been started by one twin or the other.

The differences were visible in the small things. Hazel was quicker to hand out a warm smile and hug. More willing to rise to responsibility when the situation called for it. Less likely to forgive a transgression by anyone. Less likely to trust. Always analyzing everyone and everything. She was their surrogate mother and sister all contained in a small feisty package.

Gabriel wsa the one who made friends easier, lighting up every room he entered. Ever the life of the party; he was always up for a good time. He found the fun in everything and created a reprieve from the darkness of their lives with jokes and crazy antics. But it wasn't all fun and games. Gabriel was quicker to shoot or throw the first punch. More willing to dirty his hands so others didn't have too.

Then there was the things they shared, the traits that made them a fearsome team. Like their love of justice. Both hated to see the little guy loose. Bullies, cheaters, anyone who took advantage of another person was on their bad side. Gabriel would get even, making them suffer what they dished out in an escalating fashion. Hazel would take the fight to them, weakening them or powering up those they pushed down. To them, things being unfair was something they had to straighten out.

Or the fact that both loved their family with everything they had. They loved it so much that when things began to fall apart after their father had died they had run. Run to escape the new reality that had taken over. Run to escape the never ending fighting between everyone. And it wasn't just Michael and Luke. It had spread outward, drawing in and pulling apart the Shurleys, the Miltons, and even the Edlunds it had reached so far. Everyone had taken a side except for the twins.

And himself. Castiel didn't want to take a side either. He wasn't with Michael because he was on Michael's side. He was with Michael because when Gabriel and Hazel had left, they hadn't taken him. He wasn't bitter about it. At sixteen neither of them could have taken care of a thirteen year-old on their own. Not while moving around and hunting. They had made the right choice and everytime they had visited they had expressed the guilt they felt over that matter.

"Of course that's what matters." Michael finally answered after extracting himself from Hazel's arm and rubbing his neck. "Family first and foremost. Just like Dad taught us."

"Right." Gabriel answered, "We stick together no matter what." His voice was slightly bitter and Castiel prepared for another fight.

Michael's phone went off before he could answer however and he sighed, "Its' Anna, gotta take this." He hit the button and made his way to the door, talking the whole way.

"Well, that was good timing." Hazel said, throwing a glare at Gabriel. "Don't rile him up everytime I calm him down. I'd rather have him in a good mood."

"I can't help it. He's just so…..annoying." Gabriel shrugged, mischievous smile on his face, "You can't stand that whole righteous, "i'm-the-perfect-son" routine either."

"Right, but I can act like an adult." Hazel shot back, frowning as Gabriel's smile deepened. "Really, using that against me?"

"Of course." Gabriel responded and laughed. "It's the perfect fodder."

Castiel looked between them confused, "Not that I mind the silent twin communication...but I am feeling a bit left out at the moment."

"Whoops. Sorry Cass. It's not really that funny"

"No, it's hilarious. Let me explain." Gabriel clapped his hands together and rubbed them like a movie villain. "This the story of how our wonder, 'adult' sister was totally not an adult. So Michael was trying to get us to come back after he found us the first time after we left. We were all in this little motel room in the shadiest part of the backwoods you can find. He had us sit at the table and was lecturing is on the importance of the mission dad left for us, and our blatant disregard for his final wishes. Telling us that by running off we were dishonoring him because our dad put him in charge and that he wanted us to listen to Mikey." Gabriel waved his hand dismissively, almost hitting Castiel in the process. "And he's just going on and on like he normally does. For once, I was letting him talk. Hazel had explain that if he found us we need to prove we're adults and could handle ourselves in the world. So I was following her advice and letting him get it out of his system so we could talk peacefully, when all of a sudden Hazel takes this cup of water she had on the table and just dumps it on his head. And she says, "You're not the boss of me."" Gabriel laughed, "She went and dumped water on his head. Real adult like."

"Gabriel, we were sixteen back then. Not exactly adults." Hazel explained, "So it's not that bad. I've gotten better."

"That's not the only time through. Remember when you started the food fight on that hospital job?"  
"That was a distraction."

"Or that time you pranked the officer guarding the abandoned courthouse during that ghost job. And you signed it? Almost getting us caught before we could skip town?"

"He deserved it. That was no way to treat a lady." Hazel argued, red coloring her cheeks with her embarrassment as Gabriel proved his point. "And we got away."

"Barely." Gabriel smirked, clearly aware he was winning the argument. "Face it, you're no more an adult that I am."

"Am so." Hazel respond, making Castiel laugh at the childish reply. Hazel gave him a reproachful and he stopped laughing to smile at her.

"Gabriel, despite the fact that at the moment Hazel is having difficulty proving her own point, she does tend to show more 'adult' tendencies than you do on a regular basis."

"Thanks Cass."

"Not fair, you can't take her side." Gabriel started to argue, but broke down laughing at his own response. "Guess that might be a little true."

"What might be true?" Michael asked, reentering the room. Seeing Hazel wave off the topic dismissively he let it go and continued on. "It seems Anna was helping Raphael with a hunt and something weird happened. I'm going to go help them out. Can you two get yourselves and Castiel back to the house? I'll meet you there and we can talk more about you two coming back."

"We never sai-" Gabriel began but Hazel cut him off.

"You go and help them. We've got Cass." She said, moving over to steer Michael away from Gabriel. "Let's get you packed up and on your way."

Michael nodded his thanks, moving about the room and grabbing his stuff. Hazel helped, him, packing things neatly into the bag. Gabriel frowned from his seat next to Castiel and didn't move. He seemed relaxed, but Castiel could see the hard set of his jaw and shoulders that said otherwise.

A couple of minutes later Michael was at the door, bags ready and in his hands. He looked over at Castiel and Gabriel, before turning to Hazel. "Take care. I'll see you."

"Of course." Hazel answer, nudging him out the door. "Go and help out the others. We'll be fine." She watched him go, waving until the sound of his car faded.

* * *

As soon as the sound of Michael's car faded, Gabriel was up on his feel. Marching over to Hazel with a frown. "What were you thinking? Promising him we'd go back?" He scowled at his twin, making sure she felt his annoyance through the bond.

Hazel met his eyes with her own, her gaze completely calm. "I didn't." She answered, moving about to clean up their stuff laying about the room.

"Oh right, 'cause you stopped me from making sure he knew just that." Gabriel snapped back, mind in too much turmoil to check what was going through hers. "And then you went and helped him out the door. Like a good little sister." _Traitor. Suckup._ He sent the words hurtling through the bond, seeing her flinch at each word. Instead of looking guilty like he expected, she sighed and stalked over to him.

"I didn't promise him anything other then we'd take care of Cass." Hazel shot back, slamming their weapons bag into his chest. "There's no way I'm going back to that house."

"So...you lied?" Gabriel asked, feeling guilty that he had jumped on her case so quickly. If he had taken a moment to calm down he could have just seen her ruse through their bond, instead of jumping to conclusions in the heat of the moment.

"No, I omitted certain details." Hazel smirked, pride and mischief coloring the bond. "I promised we'd take care of Cass. Which is what I plan to do. Nowhere safer than with us."

Gabriel's smirked mirrored her own as he started to bustle about, grabbing their stuff. "I like the way you think. Almost like we share a brain."

Hazel rolled her eyes and continued to pack away their laptops as he made his way around the room. Unlike his clothes which were strewn about every which way, their weapons were neatly laid on on the small coffee table by the TV. Their father had taught them to always keep their weapons in perfect working order. It was one of the few lessons Gabriel had excelled at. To him cleaning and prepping each one was soothing and therapeutic in a way. While Hazel or Cass may read a book, or Luke would take a drive around, Gabriel would turn to the weapons to calm himself. Each weapon had a place, a purpose. Iron and salt rounds for the ghosts. Holy water and exorcism for the demons. Silver for shifters, werewolves. Machetes for vampires. Each weapon had a task to perform and they never changed. It was the one thing he could control for sure in the crazy life of a hunter and he the security fixing them up gave him was priceless.

He tucked away the weapons on the table, then ran through his mental checklist of what could still be missing. _Knife under the pillow._ Hazel's reminder came from the bond and Gabriel through her a thankful nod as he moved over to the bed where Castiel was sitting. The knife was under the pillow on the opposite side of where their younger brother was sitting, which was good. Since they had forgotten it was there.

Grabbing the knife Gabriel held it up and dramatically wiped imaginary sweat off his brow, wanting to play around with Cass a bit. "Would you look at that. Good thing we didn't set you on that side of the bed. Could've given you a second hole down there."

"Second hole?" Castiel asked confused, his grasp of the intricacies of butt humor clearly not having grown while being with Michael. "I do not understand."

Gabriel sighed, putting the blade away and deciding it was better not to continue to push the joke any further. They'd have enough time to get Cass caught up on all the things a human should know while they hunted.

"Butt humor is not on that list." Hazel answered his unspoken thought, laughing lightly. "Though I do agree that Cass is lacking in some more of the fundamental human understanding he should have."

"Am I?" Castiel asked, still looking confused, "I am not aware of anyway my education could be lacking in regards to human behavior."

"That phrase, right there. That's proof." Gabriel told him, trying to be patient. It wasn't Cass' fault he hadn't truly experienced the real world. Anyone who Michael had a hand in raising was far too sheltered for their own good. "You sound more like a robot than a human."

"What Gabriel's saying is that you haven't gotten out in the world outside of hunting really." Hazel explained, "So you've missed out on some of the intricacies and colloquisams of everyday speech."

"I had not realized that."

"Don't worry, you'll pick it up fast enough once you get some exposure to it." Hazel said, then frowned. "That is if you'd like to come with us. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Castiel watched her carefully, not sure if he should speak just yet. Of course he wanted to go with them. He had wanted to go with them when they had left the first time. But that didn't mean he should. If he left, that meant Michael would be alone. He would be running off just like Gabriel and Hazel had done. Was that something he could do to Michael? Could he leave Michael like Gabriel and Hazel had left him? If he did leave, could he live with the fact that he had done that to Michael? It was a troubling thought; but more troubling was the answer.

"I think I would like to go with you." Castiel said slowly, "But I don't want to just leave Michael on his own. So I would like to go occasionally visit. If Michael is willing to let me visit and help out."

"Don't bet on it." Gabriel mutter, but Hazel jumped in and spoke over him. "That's fine." she said, smiling and hugging him. "I can't say we'll join you, but we'll make sure to stop in now and then for you."

Castiel smiled, glad he could lessen a bit of his guilt. Michael wasn't always the nicest person to him, but that didn't mean he deserved to be alone. _Not that he is truly alone. He has Anna and Raphael. And the other families that come to visit and work with him._ Castiel reminded himself and wrapped an arm around Hazel in return. _It is not like I am leaving him forever._

0o0

The house was dark when Michael parked his car in the driveway and he felt his stomach twist. Deep down he hadn't been expecting much from Hazel or Gabriel, but Castiel he had faith in. _Maybe he's asleep._ The suggest floated through his mind, trying to give him hope. But he knew better. Castiel normally left a light on, so that any hunters or family stopping by knew there was someone there.

"Damn it." He gets out of the car, grabbing his bag and a his keys. Unlocking the door he stepped inside, listening to utter silence in the house. "Bastards went and talked him into staying with them." He scowled.

"Well, Castiel had always wanted to go with them." Anna said from behind him, flipping on the hall light as she entered. "So it shouldn't shock you that much. He never stopped asking about them and they'd always call for his birthday."

"He's better then they are though." Michael insisted, moving further into the house and slamming his bag down on the kitchen counter. "I trained him to be a better soldier."

"Sometimes they don't turn out right." Anna suggested, putting her bag down much gentler and moving over to check the fridge. "I mean, look at Luke. At least they're only out hunting on their own. They could all be worse."

Michael sighed, thoughts of his second brother sobering him up quick. They had always been taught that family came first, but for him, Luke made that rule impossible to follow. Not only had he run off, he had begun a war. He incited a war amongst their family by trying to claim the right to be the family head. Which belonged to Michael himself. It was his right as the eldest. The first born to their father. No one was better suited than he was. He had always been the best. Their father's perfect soldier.

"That may be so, but I'm not going to let them wander around forever. For now Castiel can stay and travel with them. Maybe learn something useful from them. And then, when things go bad they'll come crawling back."

"If they last that long." Anna frowned, pulling some ingredients out of the fridge to make dinner. "You said it yourself after the hunt. Something fishy is going on…I mean, those demons knew our names..among other things. Even Luke would never have given them some of the info they had. Something bad is going on and if they get drawn into it, it could end badly."

Michael nodded, face growing grave. He didn't want to think about what the weird things going on. Not only were there demons out in unusually large numbers, they were also coming directly after their family. And not just the Novaks, all the hunter families were being targeted. And they didn't know why. Normally he'd blame Luke, but from what Anna had learned from Raphael, his brother Uriel had been talking about how the demons had even gone after Luke on an occasion or two. And he was willing to work with them, which meant it was something more important that losing a hunter ally. Something Michael feared was much darker than they had ever dealt with before. Sighing over the dark thoughts, Michael watched as Anna went about making them some dinner. "Hopefully they come around and come home before that happens."


End file.
